Divine Tang Era

After an unknown amount of time, the black bear suddenly rolled out of bed and looked warily out the window.

"Knock knock knock"

Several knocks suddenly rang out in the darkness, and the black bear roared fiercely, "Awooo! Awooo! Awooo! Awooo!"

In his sleep, Xu Dan heard a black bear roaring. He opened one eye to look, then reached out and pulled it into the blankets. "It's so late, what are you yelling about? Aren't you going to sleep?"

The black bear struggled to get up, but its owner was too strong, so it could only lie down obediently.

Not long after, it fell into a deep sleep along with its owner.

I had a good night's sleep.

The next morning, Xu Dan woke up feeling refreshed and completely refreshed, all his fatigue gone. The innkeeper's wife, hearing the commotion, brought him hot water to wash up. Xu Dan thought the inn's service was good, but wondered about the price. It probably wasn't cheap, considering it included room and board.

As he went downstairs, the shopkeeper greeted him, "Young master, you're up! I just cooked some noodles, would you like a bowl?"

Xu Dan was hungry, so he ate a bowl and asked the shopkeeper for a broken bowl to feed the black bear.

After eating, I wanted to go out for a walk and change my clothes. Since I was here, I should respect local customs and not dress strangely or differently from others all day.

The poem "The Fisherman" in the Chu Ci (Songs of Chu) says: "When the waters of the Canglang River are clear, I can wash my hat tassels; when the waters of the Canglang River are muddy, I can wash my feet."

When the waters of the Canglang River are clear, I can wash the ribbons that tie my hat; when the waters of the Canglang River are muddy, I can use them to wash my feet.

Don't try to be a muddy stream when the water is clear, or a clear stream when the water is muddy. The result will be either that you assimilate to them, or that you are assimilated by them, or that you are overwhelmed.

The same applies to people; those who are too unconventional will either become isolated or be abandoned by the world.

Therefore, reformers throughout history have never had a good ending, but they have all become saints who have been remembered for generations.

Xu Dan didn't know anything about saints or not; he just wanted to change his clothes.

But as he stepped out of the inn, he suddenly remembered the things he had left there. He quickly ran upstairs, packed the Jade Dragon Seed, Golden Insect Grass, and other valuables into his backpack and carried them with him. Then he hung the Eight Degrees Sword on his waist, grabbed the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer, and carried the black bear out the door.

As I was leaving, I remembered something and asked, "Shopkeeper, did you knock on my door last night?"

"No, no, why are you knocking on the door so late at night?" The shopkeeper shook his head repeatedly.

"Oh, maybe I misheard." Xu Dan felt he hadn't misheard, but since he said no, he didn't say anything more.

After he walked away, the shopkeeper rushed to Xu Dan's room. There was a talisman that had been pasted on it before, but it had now turned to ashes.

"What a disaster! Why did they come out again? Luckily, they didn't hurt any customers," the shopkeeper's wife complained from behind.

"It must be a loophole in the city's protective formation that allowed something to get in. You watch the shop for a bit, I'll go to the county government to buy some talismans and tell them about this," the shopkeeper said.

"Then hurry up and go, this matter cannot be delayed."

"Sigh, if the shop hadn't been so unsellable, we wouldn't be stuck here."

"That's right. You should hurry up and find someone to take a look. If it really doesn't work, ask for less money and sell the shop as soon as possible. Gu'er wrote that Yingniang is due to give birth in a few months. At that time, I won't care about your shop anymore; this old woman will be taking care of my grandson."

"I know, I know. I already told the brokers, and there's even a sign outside. It's just that our location is too remote, and all the hotel guests are at the south gate. If we want to sell, they have to consider the location; we can't just do business at a loss."

After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he went to the counter to get money to buy the talisman.

Before leaving, he reminded his wife to watch the shop carefully and not to wander off.

Following the shopkeeper's directions, Xu Dan arrived at a clothing shop. The fabrics inside were brightly colored, and the embroidery was quite good. The shop offered ready-made clothes as well as custom-made garments. Upon seeing someone enter, a pretty young woman came forward to greet him.

"Young master, do you need some clothes?"

Xu Dan nodded and asked, "Do you have any clothes here that would fit me?"

The woman looked him over and invited him inside to comb his hair and get ready.

A short while later, Xu Dan emerged, looking like a completely different person. He wore a small hat, a moon-white long robe, a jade pendant at his waist, and black boots. If he were to carry a folding fan, wouldn't he be a refined and elegant gentleman, standing alone in the world, as graceful as a jade tree in the wind?

Xu Dan stood in front of the life-sized bronze mirror in the shop and looked at himself, quite satisfied with his outfit. He then ordered two more changes of clothes from the shopkeeper, paid, picked up his new clothes, and left.

"Young man, are you going to sell this fur?" the woman suddenly asked.

Hearing her words, Xu Dan recalled the look in the fur shop owner's eyes yesterday and suddenly understood.

The guy wasn't actually looking at his clothes; he was looking at his fur-lined trousers. There was something special about them that made them both eyeing them. He knew they were fur-lined trousers because they were the only thing he had that was worth anything.

As for mushroom skin and deer skin, forget about them, what are they anyway?

Xu Dan picked up the fur-lined pants and asked, "Is this what you mean?"

"That's right," the woman said with a sweet smile.

"What's so great about this stuff that you and Manager Cai from the leather goods shop both like it so much?" Xu Dan asked, puzzled.

The young woman hadn't expected anyone to be interested, and cursed inwardly, but thankfully it hadn't been bought yet, so she still had hope. Hearing his words, she said, "Young man, you may not know this, but although the fur isn't pretty, it's very soft and can keep you warm and protect you from the rain. It's a rare and precious item."

Fearing he wouldn't believe her, the woman took out a cup of water and poured it on top; indeed, it left no trace of water.

Putting aside everything else, just for this reason alone, furs can't possibly be cheap.

"This is good stuff!" A man walked in from outside, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the fur.

"Master Ma, even if it's something good, it's none of your business," the woman said coldly.

"Qiong Niang, that's not right of you. You haven't even bought it yet, how can it be none of my business?" Ma Dongjia chuckled.

"I've already bought it," Ke Niang said coldly.

"Really?" Ma Dongjia turned to Xu Dan and asked, "Young master, did you sell the fur to her?"

The maid quickly winked at Xu Dan, her eyes pleading. Xu Dan, recalling how the maid had helped him dress and comb his hair—a commendable service—couldn't help but say with pity, "I did sell myself to her."

Ma Dongjia's smile vanished instantly. He glanced at Xu Dan, then at Ke Niang, snorted, and walked out of the shop.

"Thank you so much for your help, young man. Otherwise, I would have been bothered by him again," Ke Niang said as she stepped forward to express her gratitude.

"You're welcome, it was nothing."

"Don't worry, young master, I'll have someone appraise the fur later. No matter the price, I'll pay extra to buy it; I won't let you suffer any loss."

Xu Dan didn't mind; it was just a minor detail, not worth worrying about. But Ke Niang was so insistent that he couldn't refuse. He still needed to look around later, so the two agreed to meet at the inn in the afternoon for the appraisal.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Xu Dan said goodbye and left to continue strolling around the city.

After walking a few steps, I saw a leather goods shop. Peeking inside, I saw that it was opened by Cai Xifu, the owner of the leather goods shop yesterday.

When Cai Xifu saw the new clothes the young man was wearing and the package he was carrying, his eyes lit up. He said, "Young master, do you have any furs to sell?"

"No, I sold them all to you yesterday. Now I only have some clothes made of deerskin left, which I guess you wouldn't like." Xu Dan shook his head.

"Young master, aren't you wearing a pair of trousers? The fur on those trousers is quite nice. If you're willing to sell them, I can give you more money," Cai Xifu added.

"You're too late. I've already sold it to the owner of the clothing store up ahead."

"What a pity, such fine leather."

"Of course they're good hides. I killed those two things with one blow. Their bones and flesh were rotten inside, but their fur was still perfectly intact, without even a wrinkle. How could they not be good?" Xu Dan recounted the scene of killing the two creatures to Cai Xifu.

Cai Xifu was extremely surprised.

"I never imagined such a thing could happen. I'd always heard hunters talk about how dangerous hunting was, but I'd never experienced it myself. Now, hearing what you've said, young man, I've witnessed it firsthand."

"Actually, it's nothing much. If we're talking about thrills, the most dangerous thing is encountering the flower-tailed snake. That thing is really insidious."

That day, I was walking on the grassland when I suddenly saw an incredibly beautiful flower. Just as I was about to go over to take a closer look, a flower-tailed serpent burst out of the ground, spewing venomous mist as it lunged at me. But I was no pushover. Instantly, I soared into the sky, transforming into the Twenty-Four Heavenly Kings, my fists clashing across a thousand mountains, like a celestial being descending to earth, unparalleled in the world. My mere presence was enough to overwhelm the flower-tailed serpent, rendering it unable to raise its head and surrendering to its fate.

"It's strange, though. When I brought the Flower-tailed Serpent into the city, the soldiers guarding the city were all terrified?" Xu Dan asked, puzzled.

"Young master, you are unaware of this."

Cai Xifu sighed and said, "Once, the city gates were not properly guarded, and the deadly flower-tailed snakes entered the city, spewing poisonous mist and killing many people. The soldiers guarding the city now were transferred after that incident. Everyone knows about it, and no one is afraid of them."

"Oh, I see."